Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal operated in cooperation with an information processing device (image forming device), and a technology relating to the mobile terminal.
Description of the Related Art
There has been a technology for cooperation between image forming devices such as multi-functional peripherals (MFP) and external mobile terminals for the image forming devices (see JP 2012-138970 A and the like).
Various wireless communication technologies are used for communication between the image forming devices and the mobile terminals. For example, communication over a wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 etc.) and/or near field communication can be used therefor. As the near field communication, there are communication based on Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, communication based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) being an evolution of Bluetooth standard, and the like.
Such wireless communication is used for communication between the image forming device and the mobile terminal, and various applied technologies are created.
For example, it can be considered that BLE or the like is used to emit radio waves circumferentially from the image forming device, the mobile terminal approaching the periphery of the image forming device receives the radio waves using BLE, and the mobile terminal detects approach to the image forming device.
In addition, in response to the detection of the approach to the image forming device, the mobile terminal can automatically start authentication operation (e.g., authentication information transmission operation).
However, when the BLE or the like is used, a radio wave having a strength increased to a certain level is required to be circumferentially transmitted from the image forming device, because a radio wave from the image forming device has variation in strength. As a result, even if only a user carrying the mobile terminal passes in front of the image forming device, the strength of the radio wave from the image forming device may be determined to exceed the certain level (in short, excessive response of the mobile terminal). Thus, when the mobile terminal is configured to automatically start the authentication operation in response to the detection of approach to the image forming device, the authentication operation may be performed contrary to user's intention.
To solve this problem, the inventor has further proposed a technology for displaying, in a display unit of the mobile terminal carried by the user approaching to the image forming device, a confirmation message for confirmation of performance of the authentication, upon approach of the mobile terminal carried by the user to the image forming device. According to this configuration, the user's authentication operation is not automatically started, but the authentication operation is started based on an instruction from the user confirming the confirmation message, and thus, user's intention can be accurately confirmed to advance the authentication operation.
However, in such a technology, when the confirmation message is displayed without restriction according to the approach of the mobile terminal to the image forming device, a message unnecessary for the user may be also displayed.
For example, some image forming devices can set necessity of the user authentication. In such an image forming device, when unnecessity of the user authentication is set (any user can freely use the image forming device without being required to input the authentication information), authentication operation performance confirmation is unnecessary for the user. In other words, when the message for confirming performance of the authentication operation is displayed in the mobile terminal, despite setting free use without the input of the authentication information in the image forming device, the user must confirm the unnecessary message.